A sudden spurt in crime —including murder for extortion in Bihar — has caused great embarrassment to the Nitish Kumar Government and raised the spectre of the return of Jungle Raj in the State. Despite a stern warning to the police top brass by the Chief Minister there have been four murders in last 72 hours.
After the brutal murders of two engineers engaged in road construction in Darbhanga, another engineer, Ankit Kumar (42), attached with a telecom agency was stabbed to death in Vaishali district. His body was found on Monday from an orchard in Kashipur Village in Vaishali district.
Kumar was Quality Engineer and North Bihar incharge of Reliance’s Corporate IT sector. Police suspect that he might have been killed elsewhere and his body was dumped in the orchard later.
A police official investigating the case said Kumar belonged to Sheikhpura Village in Muzaffarpur. His identity was established with the aid of the driving licence and a company identity card found in his pocket. Police said the family members of the victim revealed that an attempt had been made on Kumar’s life last year in Chhapra. The family told the police that Kumar had visited his village on Sunday and left for Patna in a car late evening.
In another incident criminals shot a grain trader Santosh Kumar Choudhary near Jagannath Shakti Dharamkanta under Ahiyapur Police Station in Muzaffarpur on Monday evening. He was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. The four assailants had come on two bikes.
The spurt in crime has
put the Mahagathbandhan Government, comprising the JD(U), RJD and Congress on the back foot with ally RJD urging the CM to give the police a free hand to take on the criminals.
In fact, RJD supremo lalu Prasad appealed to top police officials to ensure a apradh mukt (crime free) Bihar.
Senior BJP leader and former Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said the criminals were out of control while the CM was holding only review meetings and issuing a flurry of instructions.
“Four sensational murders in the last 72 hours have smashed the claims of rule of law and sushasan (good governance). Once again Bihar is causing fear among people everywhere,” he said.
Amid accusations by the Opposition that the crime graph has been spiraling since Nitish aligned with the RJD, lJP MP Chirag Paswan blamed the RJD for the increasing crime saying the party was synonym with extortion, abduction and murder.
lalu who held an impromptu Press conference on Tuesday, blamed the BJP for the criminal incidents to defame the Government. “A former DGP, who is no longer in service, had lowered the morale of the police for his acts,” he said. The RJD chief was referring to former DGP Abhyanand and his alleged inaction following the murder of Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Singh Mukhiya some two years back.
lalu also suggested that Santosh Jha, whose gang is believed to be involved in the murder of two engineers and who is languishing in Gaya jail, be taken on remand by the police and be sternly interrogated and his gang be smashed. He said the unfit policemen should be removed and the CM should instruct all the DMs and SPs to move to the villages and spend nights for a firsthand knowledge.
Hitting out at the BJP, lalu said the party should see what is happening in the States ruled by the party.